A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed

HOW ODD THAT MASSACRES MOSTLY HAPPEN IN "GUN-FREE ZONES"! When will the brain-dead Left wake up and draw the obvious conclusion? Gun bans kill kids

Friday, April 28, 2017

On the Way to Atlanta, NRA Meeting 2017

I drove to the NRA Meeting in Atlanta yesterday, the 26th of April, 2017. I had been visiting family in Dallas, Texas, so it was only 800 miles.

On the way, I reflected on the last time I was in Atlanta for more than a flight change. It was over 40 years ago, when I was in the Army.

What happened then was not important. But what has happened in the last 40 years has been phenomenal for Second Amendment Supporters.

In 1974, the Gun Control Act of 1968 was only six years old. It had not been improved by the Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986. Travel with firearms was a bit dicey. I figured my military orders would keep me out of trouble for the firearms I had in the car, but it was far from certain.

Now, in 2017, I drove with confidence from Texas to Georgia, with jacket on or off, carrying openly or concealed as convenience and temperature dictated.

In 1974, Texans had no right to carry, except in extremely limited circumstances, such as on their own land. There was an affirmative defense if you were carrying while travelling. That meant you could be arrested, and then have to prove to a judge that you really were travelling. There was some precedent to indicate traveling might be interpreted as crossing a county line. Today, both concealed and open carry are legal and accepted with a shall issue permit, and reciprocity for the permit extends to many states.

I crossed the line into Louisiana, noting that gas prices dropped momentarily to $1.99 per gallon. In constant dollars, it is close to the price paid for gas in 1974.

The scenery was beautiful. Louisiana passed an improved right to carry amendment in 2012. Their constitution had given the legislature the right to regulate the wearing of concealed weapons shortly after they became a state. The 2012 amendment took away that specific power.

Louisiana has a shall issue permit and wide reciprocity, and open carry without a permit, for anyone over 17. A talk radio station in Louisiana extolled the virtues of small government, and railed against an anti-business tax. In 1974, it was hard to find any commentary on the air extolling limited government and holding to the Constitution.

Mississippi came into view as I crossed the river. Mississippi had very restrictive carry laws in 1974, especially if you were black. In 2016, Mississippi joined the Constitutional Carry club. You do not need a permit to carry in Mississippi, openly or concealed. It does not matter if you are white or black, because you do not need to apply for a permit. I felt as if I were in friendly territory.

I had forgotten how beautiful the South is. The gently rolling hills, greenery covering the fields, expansive, dense woods, lots of pretty wild country. That is the way it was as I rolled through Alabama. In 1974, Alabama had concealed carry permits that were issued by County Sheriff offices. Issue of permits were to locals that the Sheriff approved of. Even today, a sheriff has a some "discretion" in issuing permits. Obtaining a permit from out of state was practically impossible in 1974. Open carry was likely to get you hassled.

In 2017, open carry is recognized as legitimate. Concealed carry in many formats, does not require a permit. The Alabama Senate has passed Constitutional Carry. Alabama is likely to joint the Constitutional Carry club soon.

The traffic in Georgia left a little to be desired. Georgia has required a carry permit for a long time. An outsider had no real chance of getting a Georgia permit in 1974. Wisconsin had no statutory system of issuing permits then (my residence was in Wisconsin at the time). Georgia would not have recognized a Wisconsin permit, in any case. The Georgia permit changed from "may issue" to shall issue" in 1989. Georgia recognizes both my Arizona and Florida permits, as it does permits from 30 other states, including Wisconsin. A permit is good for both open and concealed carry, and covers knives as well as handguns.

I felt quite comfortable carrying a handgun and knife in Georgia. I carried in the World Congress Center in Atlanta where the NRA Meeting is being set up. I wore a jacket, but if it becomes warm in the press room, I will have no problem openly carrying my Glock 17. I did it at the NRA Meeting last year.

Second Amendment supporters have made tremendous strides in 40 years.

40 years ago, most activists believed they were fighting a delaying action, hoping to hold onto what was left of Second Amendment rights for as long as possible. We were told that demographics and the growth of Urban America were against us. We were given bad information. That sounds rather familiar, thinking of recent pronouncements from academia.

The fight to restore Second Amendment rights has been long, hard, and fruitful. Incrementalism has worked. Another justice who takes his oath seriously has been confirmed to the Supreme Court. The second U.S. President in the history of the NRA is going to speak at the 2017 annual meeting. The Trump administration is rolling back administrative rules. National reciprocity has many co-sponsors in both the House and the Senate.

The Trump administration is the beneficiary of 40 years of hard fought battles to restore Second Amendment rights. The Trump Administration is expected to carry that battle to Congress, and win it.

Much remains to be done. Numerous infringements remain in the statutes and regulations. But Second Amendment supporters are winning, and the NRA has been a large part of those victories.

4 comments:

Anonymous
said...

This is why I have said if you draw shoot, you get into just as much trouble either way. I take my dog for walks on a leash. she has been attacked 4 times by dogs not on a leash. the situation resolved its self and I chose hot to shoot. I explained the leash law and the gun laws. Most of the dogs that normally run free are now being kept in the yard inside the fence or on a leash. I took my dog to the river to let her play there were two other dogs there with one owner. every thing was fine for about 20 minutes than one of the other dogs became aggressive. I had put my dog back on her leash when the other dog charged. the owner of the aggressive dog got control of his dog and put it on a leash attached to his camper. dogs running free have drawn blood on my leashed dog twice. I hope I never have to shoot a neighbors dog, but I see no reason not to if it becomes necessary.

The Mississippi laws are not as simple as posted here. Y'all check the details closely before packing. We have open carry (but you can get arrested in some places) without a permit, OC with a permit, CC w/o a permit, and CC with a permit. AND, there are two types of permits, which affect where you can carry. MS does not issue nonresident permits. Reciprocity does not apply for the enhanced permit benefits. So if you are carrying based on your reciprocal permit, make sure you're checking the right list of places (non-enhanced) that it is valid. None of the above are unlimited. I suggest that other states may not be as simple as represented either. The judge will not be impressed with your introduction of a blogger's posting as evidence in your case.

Well I'm in Arizona where no permit is required at all. I was actually told to shoot dangerous dogs by the sheriff and not bother the sheriff. I have shot six dogs , four with a pistol and two with a bow. If they are not on a leash and attack I drop them like a hot rock. I'm not required to determine if they are rabid.

I really hate it when so called experts refuse to admit when they are wrong. I worked a case, a baby less than two years old had a very serious infection. the attending physician misdiagnosed the case. I had several cases like this and knew the diagnosis was wrong. I called the mother off to the side and suggested she get a second opinion. She happened to be the director of nurses. she called emergency at children's hospital and reported the symptoms. they sent a crash team to transport, the attending physician refused to sign transfer orders, Her husband just any one can be wrong expert or no. happened to be the administrator, that doctor lost his privileges. the case was reassigned and the child was transferred. If he had not been transferred he would have died in 24 hours or less. last I heard he was captain of his high school foot ball team. Anyone can be wrong expert or no. legislator passing these laws are wrong more often than not.

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Background

“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” -- Thomas Jefferson

Syndicated columnist Charley Reese (1937-2013): "Gun control by definition affects only honest people. When a politician tells you he wants to forbid you from owning a firearm or force you to get a license, he is telling you he doesn’t trust you. That’s an insult. ... Gun control is not about guns or crime. It is about an elite that fears and despises the common people."

The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles -- Jeff Cooper (1920-2006)

Note for non-American readers: Crime reports from America which describe an offender just as a "teen" or "teenager" almost invariably mean a BLACK teenager.

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.

Two lines below of a famous hymn that would be incomprehensible to Leftists today ("honor"? "right"? "freedom?" Freedom to agree with them is the only freedom they believe in)

First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean

It is of course the hymn of the USMC -- still today the relentless warriors that they always were.

The intellectual Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) said: "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."

How much do you know about Trayvon Martin? Did you recognize him in the picture above? If not you may need to know more about him. It's all here (Backups here and here)

“An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” -- Robert A. Heinlein

After all the serious stuff here, maybe we need a funny picture of a cantankerous cat